The human mind is very complex so studying its science and behaviour involves getting adequate education to deal with related issues.
Psychology is an excellent course for students who desire to explore and study the science behind the human mind and behaviour. And your ticket to getting into the psychology profession is to get a proper university education which usually takes 4 years to complete.
Also, during your preparation to study at the university, you can consider getting an online diploma in psychology for a few months. This way, you'll be able to get yourself familiar with the field.
This article will discuss everything you need to know about acquiring a psychology degree in Nigeria.
Read about where you can work in Nigeria as a Psychology graduate.
Why Is It Important to Get a University Degree in Psychology?
Psychological science deals with the mind and human behaviour. It involves studying people, their mental process, and how it affects their behaviour and personality.
To understand the science and the state of the human mind and behaviour, you must get proper education and training. Also, to get started as a psychologist in Nigeria, you must have a Bachelor's or postgraduate degree.
Getting a psychology degree from a Nigerian university will help you gain the right skills and training to help you function in your day-to-day activities as a psychologist. Moreover, taking a psychology university programme will give you insights into human behaviour and how it relates to life.
In addition, when taking a psychology degree or diploma course, you'll be introduced to the course, and you'll get to learn the basics and advanced aspects of the field.
Taking university training in the field will help you realise the area of psychological science you're good at and how you can build your career from it. Also, you get to learn from professionals who are vast in the discipline and have had real-life experiences.
Getting a university degree will help you explore the different psychology specialisations.
Here are some essential things you'll learn from taking a university psychology course:
- You'll understand how the brain works and how it affects human behaviour and development
- For clinical health, you'll understand how mental disorders are triggered in people
- For education psychology, you'll be able to understand how the learning environment can affect the educational development of a child or student.
- Social psychological science will help you know how people view themselves in the society
- Business psychology will help you understand how people view a product or service from a business organisation
- The forensic aspect of psychology will help you understand the scenarios behind the crime and how the criminal mind.
Aside from all of this, there are many things you'll be learning and so many skills you'll gain from signing up for an undergraduate and postgraduate psychology education. And by getting an education in psychological science, there's so much you can learn and achieve in your discipline.
Here's a complete guide to the world of Psychology in Nigeria.
Psychology Degree in Nigeria
Getting a psychology degree in Nigeria exposes students to the knowledge and skills that will prepare them for their career development. Here is an essential skill students will acquire from gaining a psychology degree:
- Ability to understand the human mind and behaviour
- Ability to carry out research projects relating to your specialisation
- Ability to understand and interpret findings from research and project
- Different psychology approaches
- The scientific process includes experimental designs, lab work, and clinical experiment
- Data collection, handling, analysis, and evaluation,
Getting a psychology degree in Nigerian universities is usually within the duration of 3 to 4 years, depending on your mode of entry.
Also, you don't need specific psychological skills, a diploma, or prior certification to apply for a degree in the field. All you need is to meet the university entry requirement for your course.
To get into any university in Nigeria, you can start your process by taking the JAMB exam, providing your O-level result, and meeting your school's post-UTME cut-off mark for psychology.
Your O-level subjects combination must include English language, Mathematics, Biology, and two other social science subjects such as Government, Economics, Geography, etc. Also, you must have a minimum of 5 credits at one sitting or 6 credits at 2 sittings in your O' level result.
Also, your subject combination for JAMB must include the use of English, Biology, and other two social science subjects.
Furthermore, students applying via direct entry must provide their O' level result or a National Diploma from a related field to cross to the 200 level instead of starting from the 100 level.
To get a psychology degree in Nigeria, you can opt for a Federal, state, or private university for your study.
Here is a list of some federal, state, and private universities that offer an accredited psychology programme:
- University of Ibadan
- University of Lagos
- University of Nigeria
- Ahmadu Bello University
- Bowen University
- Covenant University
- Olabisi Onabanjo University
- Ekiti state university
Skills You Should Have as a Psychology Student
Getting a psychology degree in Nigeria doesn't require having specific qualifications or training before applying. However, there are specific skills you need to have to be a good psychologist. The good thing is you can build them along the way.
Critical Thinking
This is important if you want to work in the psychological science field. Critical thinking helps students evaluate and interpret certain situations or case studies. You should be able to make meaningful observations and relate them to your work process.
Aside from understanding how the human mind works, you need to be able to think of ways to solve human issues, and this can only happen when you're good with critical thinking.
Communication
Just like any other field, communication is essential in psychological science. The science involves interrogation, evaluation and questioning to get information from people, so you might want to sharpen your communication skills.
Communication skills help students with school activities and school projects. It's also an important part of psychology career development.
Creative Problem Solving
The summation of the psychology discipline is to solve business or human issues. So, as a psychologist, this is a skill you should build at the early stage of your learning or before you complete your programme. Honing your psychology skills will help you go far in building your career.
Active Listening
Being able to listen actively is a required skill in the psychological sciences, which in turn help you build your observation skills and how you solve people's issues. Active listening is a therapeutic technique in psychology that helps you listen closely to understand your clients' views.
Research
Doing research and reading a lot of research papers is unavoidable in psychology, and it's a very important learning and training process in psychological science. Also, it will help you understand your field better and how you can use your knowledge to solve human issues practically.
With research, you'll also gain other important skills in your field.
These are the best Psychology learning materials!
What You Can Do After Your Psychology Degree
There are several things you can do after your psychology university degree programme. You might be interested in getting an internship after school for one year or a few months to get familiar with working in the discipline and aid your career development.
You can easily search online for firms, clinics, or business organisations in need of psychology interns. Another thing you can do is to continue learning by signing up for your postgraduate programme. So, you can get your Master's degree within two years, usually 18 months.
Furthermore, getting a job is another thing you can do after your undergraduate or postgraduate programme. There are different roles you can apply for as a psychologist. With a psychology degree, you can work almost everywhere.
You can work with businesses, industries, clinics, rehabilitation centres, and even tech companies.
Here is a list of some jobs you can take up as a psychologist:
- Mental health psychologist
- Clinical psychotherapist
- Counsellor
- Human resource
- Intelligence officer
- Social worker
- Business management
Hiring a Private Psychology Tutor
Anyone can have a private tutor, irrespective of their level of education. Just as much as primary and secondary school students need private tutors, so also do students at the university level.
Students studying psychology or students aspiring to study the course can get private tutors for themselves, either online or in-person, to aid their training. Getting a tutor for private training on your courses can help you learn difficult psychology concepts and help your academic development.
If you need someone to help you with exam preparations, getting a private tutor might be all you need. You can get personalised teaching and guidance with online or in-person private tutoring to help you study and learn better. Also, you can take your tutorials during your free time.
If you're interested in hiring a psychology tutor near you, you should try Superprof. There are a lot of experienced tutors on the platform that can help you with issues relating to your psychology subjects and courses.
Getting a tutor on Superprof is pretty pocket-friendly, and you can easily get tutors that meet your learning specifications and budget. Also, the first lesson with any Superprof tutor is free!
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